Europe

BERLIN — Volkswagen has a high sales goal for its retro-styled ID Buzz battery-electric van. “We want to sell around 120,000 units a year,” Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Ralf Brandstaetter said during a livestream of the company’s fiscal and product outlook for 2022 and beyond. The ID Buzz is the “most emotional ” member of

BMW was 10 grams per km under its European Union CO2 emissions target in 2021, helped by strong sales of electrified models including Mini vehicles and advances in combustion-engine technology. Group emissions were 115.9 g/km, BMW said, compared with a regulatory target of 126 g/km in the 27 EU countries plus Norway and Iceland. The

Robert Bosch is curtailing its operations in Russia amid signs that its parts may have been used for “non-civilian” purposes in violation of its policies, the company said. Bosch has halted deliveries of truck components to Russian customers pending an investigation into how the parts are being deployed, the Stuttgart-based supplier said in a statement

TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. will suspend operations at more than half its operations across Japan and is studying potential disruption to overseas production because of supply chain interruptions triggered by a large earthquake that rattled the country this week. Toyota will halt production for three days starting next week on 18 lines at 11

TURIN – Maserati will sell only full-electric cars from 2030 and will launch its last two new models with internal combustion engine variants in 2023. CEO Davide Grasso said the Stellantis luxury brand will electrify faster than it had originally planned because of changing consumer tastes. “We are seeing a strong acceleration in demand coming

BERLIN — Audi will expand its EV lineup with a spacious battery-electric station wagon based on the PPE platform it is developing with Porsche. Audi previewed the wagon by unveiling the near-production A6 Avant e-tron concept at its annual media conference on Thursday. The production version of the 5000-mm long (197 inches) concept will offer

BERLIN — BMW Group said it would resume full production next week at factories that were halted or slowed by supply bottlenecks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, output was paused at factories in Munich and Dingolfing, Germany, and Oxford, England. BMW said last week that it would begin to restart the factories, and

Intel has picked Germany as the site for a huge new chipmaking complex, giving the first details of a $88 billion investment drive across Europe. The U.S. chipmaker is spreading its investments around half a dozen countries, including boosting its existing factory in Ireland, setting up a design and research facility in France, and a

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mercedes-Benz won’t cut spending on future electric vehicles even as it copes with supply-chain cost pressures exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the German automaker’s CEO said Tuesday. Ola Källenius, speaking during the company’s opening of its first U.S. EV battery factory, also affirmed the company’s 2022 financial outlook remained in place despite

Ferrari has stopped taking orders for the F8 Tributo coupe and F8 Spider sports cars, the brand’s best-selling models in Europe in 2021.  Jacopo Marcon, product manager for the sports car segment at Ferrari, earlier this month confirmed the company’s decision, which had been rumored among Ferrari enthusiasts.  Marcon spoke at a media test event

PARIS — Renault Group has named Duncan Minto, a 25-year veteran of the automaker, as CFO of the Dacia-Lada business unit. Minto, 46, will report to Renault CFO Thierry Pieton and Denis Le Vot, the general manager of the Dacia and Lada brands, and serve on the business unit’s management board.  Renault CEO Luca de

South Korean battery maker SK On said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ford Motor and Koc Holding to form a joint venture to produce electric vehicle battery cells in Turkey. The plant is targeted to start by 2025 and aims to have an annual production capacity of 30 to 45 gigawatt hours,

Denso, a top Toyota supplier, was targeted by a ransomeware attack last week, the partsmaker said. The Japanese supplier said it had detected unauthorized access using ransomware at Denso Automotive Deutschland GmbH, a group company that handles sales and engineering in Germany, on Thursday local time. Denso “promptly responded,” spokeswoman Izumi Saito said on Sunday.

BERLIN — Volkswagen Group’s chief procurement officer, Murat Aksel, is focusing on the formation of closer partnerships and deeper cooperation with suppliers. Aksel wants to involve them in new projects at an early stage as he tries to reduce material costs by 7 percent by the end of this year. Aksel, who was appointed to

Renault has kept long-standing ties with Russia intact despite the war in Ukraine because it’s worried about the high cost of pulling out from a venture with a local partner, according to people familiar with situation. The French manufacturer wants to avoid the nationalization of its majority-owned automaker, AvtoVAZ, which plays a key role in

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen Group doubled its operating profit in 2021 but warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on supply chains could hit business this year in unforeseen ways. Operating profit last year doubled to 19.3 billion euros ($21.1 billion) despite lower deliveries, VW said in a statement on Friday. Global vehicle sales

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is hitting hopes of renewed growth in central Europe’s car industry this year following the pandemic, stoking risks of sharper economic slowdowns. The conflict in Ukraine has worsened supply snags and is also pushing up prices for materials like nickel or palladium, which will put more pressure on the car sector

Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson does not agree with Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares’ view that suppliers have to absorb the extra costs that come with the transition to building electric vehicles rather than conventional combustion-powered models. Stellantis is aggressively pursuing ways to save money such as new contract language with its suppliers that requires them